Design help needed! Odd racing requirements!

I just found this site. I have been reading through the lists with great interest, and am amazed with the amount of great advice.

I am trying to design two boats for a very different sort of race! Seagull Racing. These boats are to be powered by 5 or 6hp British Seagull outboards.

I am looking for hull design help that can produce the fastest planing hull, that can carry two crew, handle choppy water while being powered by an old small HP classic outboard.

One boat has to be under 16' and the other can be any length. My prefered method of building the boat is stitch and glue with plywood.

For further information on the racing see the links below. Unfortunately most of the pictures are of the traditional dinghy class and not the planing 'racing blades'.

http://www.propspring.com/prop012.htm
http://risr.01.free.bm/

If anyone would like to help me, or has any helpful suggestions or advice I would love to hear from you.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[tom28571]

I've heard of this race and it presents a nice challenge. It brings back some memories from about 50 years ago when I had a little 12ft runabout with a10hp outboard and a close friend bought a boat that I though was kind of different. It was about 14ft long and had a Wizard 6hp on it. It had a single step of about 4 inches in height. The forward sections were those of a normal V hull and the aft part was dead flat from the step to the transom. It was built very lightly of 1/4 inch plywood.

The thing surprised us all by being able to plane with two aboard. I don't remember anything about its rough water capability but I guess you don't care about comfort as long as it doesn't flip and holds together long enough for the race. If you want planing speed on a monohull with a 6hp engine, Light weight and a step hull seems to be the ticket. If catamarans are allowed, they would be a good bet.

Seagulls have never been a favorite engine for me but, being that the race is in Bermuda, they probably don't allow anything not made in GB on the island. Don't they have a high gear ratio lower unit? What kind of prop is available for the planing hulls?